I have to admit that my main motivation for watching this
film is the rare score from Mr Marvin Gaye but the film itself has a mixed
reputation. The film was featured in Harry Medved’s classic book, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time in
1978 whilst Complex included it on its 2009 list of "The 50 Best
Blaxploitation Movies of All Time" (although that’s quite a long list…).
For me it’s OK, a professional job that’s just a bit too
by-the-numbers to genuinely convince the audience that there’s peril for the
main character, Mr T. Most of the moves are telegraphed and whilst there are
good moments there’s very little surprise… That’s not enough to prevent it
being an enjoyable watch and then there’s that score which gives the whole
enterprise a touch of class the narrative doesn’t necessarily deserve.
Ivan Dixon’s direction is clinical if not anti-septic and
Robert Hooks definitely has star presence as the unflappable Mr. T with his
thousand dollar suits, fast cars and even faster women. He plays a private
detective in South Central Los Angeles who is seemingly at ease with delivering
out-sourced justice and who earns enough from his game and the odd pool hustle
to keep himself in top quality cars, clothes and condominium. Then there’s the
women, our story starts as T says “thanks
and maybe later” to one pretty woman and it ends with an “how you doin’?” to another… all part of
the charm and very 1972.
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| Clothes, car and stride maketh the man... |
But there are plenty looking to knock T down a peg or
three including LAPD captain Joe Marx (Bill Smithers) and the local mobsters
looking to frame him for a hit with both Marx and the dominant gang boss, Big
(Julius Harris) … the clue is in the name, brother (probably).
T is approached by Chalky (Paul Winfield) and his partner,
Pete (Ralph Waite), who run dice games which they allege keep on getting robbed
by a gang of four men. They persuade a reluctant T to sit ion and help protect
their “club” but, what the PI doesn’t know is that they have one of Big’s main
men who they plan to kill and place the blame on T… Their plan goes like
clockwork and T witnesses the killing thinking the man was one of the robbers.
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| Paul Winfield and Ralph Waite try to influence Mr T |
Almost immediately he’s the man in the frame as Chalky
and Pete get the word out that T killed Big’s man a story that gains quick
traction with Marx and Big’s men. T’s in a tough spot and while he’s able to
more than match the policeman’s attempts to rattle him knows he has to be heard
by Big. Using his cool – probably he’s had training at some point – T gains
access to big man Big and convinces him enough of his innocence to gain the
time to arrange a parley with Chalky and Pete.
The men are due to meet at the pool hall of his pal Jimmy
(Bill Henderson) and yet as Big waits they are hit by a group of men dressed as
policemen who shoot Big and knock T out. Firmly in the frame for the challenge
on Big T needs to dig deep and work his way out with all sides heading in his
direction.
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| Julius Harris is Big |
Amongst all of this he, of course, makes time for his
main lady love, Cleo (Paula Kelly with a stunning close-cropped hair-do!) who
seems mostly there to give him some vulnerability as he’s clearly used to
playing away.
There are plenty of tough-talking hombres surrounding
Chalky and Pete but T begins to push back and soon Chalkie’s getting nervy and
Pete is coming to the fore as the nastiest bad guy… The odds are stacked high
but… you just have a feeling he might find a way…
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| Paula Kelly |
Dusty verdict: Trouble Man ticks many boxes but
necessarily in a way that causes the audience undue stress. It feels like a
slick job well done, not a disaster – not at all – but not a surprise either.
It’s as fluent an exposition of the contemporary black
cinema lingua Franca as you’ll find and there are the cars, the clothes and the
women to admire. Mr T himself is an amalgam of stock character traits but he
wears them as well as the suits, never taking things for anything other than
what they actually are.
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| Mr Robert Hooks |
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| Jean Bell who was Playboy's second black centerfold |
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